I have been following the news with only one ear as it were. My sister has been here and we have been enjoying what I term the real world for four days.
Two items on my brief tour of Internet news have caught my attention: the possible manslaughter charges against Michael Jackson's doctor (more about that on a later blog) and the Gates/Crowley/Obama issue. I believe the New York Times gave a very fair evaluation of this and I refer the reader to it.
What I wish to communicate is my experience of things getting out of hand recently. And I did not have CNN to fan the flames. I went ballistic on an electric utility coop meter reader when she chose to drive across my property rather than exit my neighbor's driveway and then enter mine to read the meters. I caught this "trespass" over very dry grasses as I was heading to the market. I "over-reacted" like Professor Gates. And the meter reader "over-reacted" like Officer Crowley. She followed me five miles into Angel Fire to continue the "debate" in the parking lot of the market. She tried to defend her actions under the utility coop's easement which was bogus because she was not driving along the easement line.
My over-reaction was based on a history of my neighbor's visitors believing they could cross the corner of my property rather than stay on the Oliver's driveway or "heaven forbid" have to reverse. I seriously doubt they teach reversing in driver's ed anymore. Her over-reaction was due to an uprising of homeowners yelling at her for their high utility bills. I totally rejected her defense of the easement line because it was bogus but also because I had already had a 45 minute "conversation" with a bull headed male chauvinist, reverse racist of an employee at the electric utility.
As a white female I routinely feel put down by Hispanic males. They all seem to think we are just dumb! He would not listen to reason or see the truth of my arguments and "lied" to me about billing periods. And I could prove that lie. So when an Hispanic female "lied" to be about the reason she took the easy way out and did not reverse I went ballistic.
This was in the middle of the day. Not at night when I was frustrated that I had locked myself out of my house. Or angry as hell that some neighbor had reported me as a thief. The President did not make and all too brief "out of context" statement about it. And it did not appear on CNN or ABC, etc. making a mountain out of a molehill. Clare and I eventually communicated enough to difuse the situation and I found out she was as pissed off by the Kit Carson Electric meter department head as I was.
I think Officer Crowley's suggestion of all parties meeting for a beer is a good one. And CNN and the other talking heads should just butt out.
Your blog title says it all. I've been in that same situation and it can be so frustrating. Dealing with utilities and government entities is about the same--employees are not motivated to help solve a problem and immediately become defensive.
ReplyDeleteAs for Obama, I found it refreshing that a president could follow up this incident by saying "I was wrong". No-one's perfect, and despite the media and the anti-Obama crowd jumping on this tempest in a teapot, that little bit of human honesty in our president reaffirms the confidence I had in him when I voted for him.
depressing to find out that US utilities corporations sound the same as Australian ones.
ReplyDeleteOurs all have a right in law to enter property at any time without prior advice, and ours, of course, are all foreign-owned. Singapore could bring us to our knees by simply shutting everything off.
Everyday I wish Mr Obama well.
I wish Obama well too - especially in trying to get the health care stuff sorted out.
ReplyDeleteI used to just look the other way when either utilities companies or a corporation stuffed up. But since having had a skirmish with Virgin Mobile that tyook a year to sort out I have realised it is actually really important to stand up to these entities and their employees.
You have to stand up for yourself especially where utility air heads are concerned. They are so puffed up with themselves the world over, no matter what race, creed or colour.
ReplyDeleteI thought the 'beer' sounded like a plan and a plan that would work. Seems very civilized to me. I don't think, given Prof Gates's history that he overreacted.
Interesting - a few hours ago CCN breaking news came into my in box -seems MJ's administered a drug to MJ that killed him. Said it all along.......
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